A man was arrested at Frederick County Public School’s central offices Thursday, in what he said was an effort to raise awareness of the county Board of Education’s elimination of a virtual learning program Wednesday.

Adam Carter-Campbell was charged with one misdemeanor count of trespassing at a public agency and released on his own recognizance, according to online court records.

Carter-Campbell said Friday that he was trying to bring attention to the Board of Education’s elimination of the school system’s Remote Virtual Program as part of efforts to balance its fiscal year 2025 budget.

The program, which serves children who are unable to learn efficiently in a typical classroom environment or who prefer to complete their schooling online, was eliminated for students in grades 3 through 8, but remains in place for high school students.

Carter-Campbell said a child he knows attends the RVP program and has benefited enormously from it.

The boy was being bullied and distracted at his normal school, which was affecting his performance, he said.

“It just wasn’t working well,” Carter-Campbell said.

Since entering the program, the boy’s grades have improved tremendously, he said.

Carter-Campbell said he entered the vestibule of the building on East Street Thursday and sat down.

When an official asked if he had any business to conduct at the building, Carter-Campbell said he replied that he did not.

After police were called, he was arrested by an officer from the Frederick Police Department.

In an emailed statement Friday, FCPS spokesman Eric Louérs-Phillips wrote, “Yesterday, an individual entered the vestibule of our Central Office and sat down without attempting to enter the building or communicate with FCPS staff. Despite multiple attempts to offer assistance and requests to leave, they did not respond. After exhausting all options, Frederick City Police were contacted and the individual was arrested for trespassing.”

Carter-Campbell said being arrested definitely wasn’t fun, but he felt like he had to do something.

“I was just trying to raise awareness, I guess,” he said.